It is verbatim. Once I read the line, I could hear Ariel saying it in my head, clear as day, exactly as she says it in the movie. But if you had asked me what the line was before you said it, I wouldn't have been able to tell you.

It's really interesting reading about what gets a story started with you! Like a plot, or a question... the question goes for me sometimes, too. With character stories at least - I like to write character stories. They're usually short and I like to think they're good ^^ Few get published.

What leads me to write are IMAGES... just images. Often they pop into my head at random. I guess I'm a very visual person. The inspiration for the Dart story was the image of a ship bobbing on the sea before the sunrise (from the game Fable 2 XD). But now that I think about, it's always images... or a scene, or a character, but even those are always in images. It works like J. K. Rowling described how she came up with Harry Potter. While she was waiting in that train station he just walked into her mind, fully formed, and that was that. Does anyone else get that? o.o

No, I don't really get images. I can be inspired by them. However, I have to look at them, and think, "Okay, what's happening here? Well, he's waiting. Waiting for what?" And, so on. I essentially create a plot out of the picture. But, I'm glad it works for you (and Rowling).

:D I love Harry Potter. But, I don't really have a desire to read him right now. *shrugs* Heck, I don't really have much of a desire to do anything. I really should work on a couple things, but...I won't. :D

Ah, Jodie Benson, the voice actress for Ariel. She has a very recognizable voice. I like her too.

I've been doing mostly realistic sort of stuff. I would like to do something that was a bit more fantastic, with elements of fantasy like magic, or the supernatural, but every time I try to work it in, it feels contrived. Anybody else have this problem? It's really hard employing devices like that. And you can rely too much on them that it becomes a gimmick.

What inspires me...music playing in the background helps shape the mood a bit. Sometimes I have to turn the music off when I'm getting really into something, though.

Oh, here's an origin story for ya. Working on an untitled fanfic that's semi-canonical with the fandom. It was actually inspired by a piece of music called Universe from the Saga Frontier II soundtrack, and plays in a desert town in the middle of nowhere. The music is very repetitious, yet beautiful in that it starts with a single instrument, and adds an instrument as it goes along, until it comes in full circle, and starts playing from the beginning once more. The desert village is very isolated, and is the only place for miles around. It's more a fanfic aimed to appeal to the aesthetics and writing, then any actual plot.

As you can see, I get inspired by the mood or feel of something, rather than anything concrete. I want to capture a certain kind of emotion or sensation in a story. Sometimes, anyway.

Well, it's hard to count De Anima. For one, since it's a novelization of someone else's pre-existing universe, so I didn't even really have to work the details in myself, and in the edit of chapter three, you saw how I just threw the magic in there without explaining it. Mainly because it's a natural ability, as well as other talents that Ferris has.

Still, the universe(s) I'm building on in De Anima...since the visuals and the gameplay help make it come alive, I have to find other avenues to do that. And that...is very, very tricky.

True, but...walk before you run, you know? Start small. Here, you get to figure out the tricks and difficulties, before you figuratively run and create your own fantasy world or whatnot.

Oh, and a note on De Anima: magic (and "other abilities") might be natural for Ferris, but they aren't natural for us humans in the real world. We don't understand them like Ferris does, so you have to explain them to us.

Oh. I meant that the magic in the world of De Anima is used in natural, as well as lightning bolts coming out of a sword, and other abilities. When Miriene and co. finally show up in book II, you'll see what I mean. Also, in the description in the master post, there was a bit of a hint: "In a universe where swords and sorcery still thrive." Our world exists in their world too, actually, but not in the way you'd expect. I'll silence myself on this. I understand what you mean about explaining though.

I'm about to pick up Dragon Quest IX. That's about all I'm doing right now.

Leslie - Like, you wrote it, and then lost the file? Or, you had the idea/inspiration, but...lost it? (I'm gonna place my bet on the second one. Though, when the first one happens, it sucks! *personal experience - I'm still looking for that file*)

Ooh...the light bulb of inspiration! I hope I can view your story sometime this weekend; last time I checked it the darn thing wasn't working. Meanwhile, I bought a new quilting book, which are much easier patterns than the ones I've been working on...hopefully. (Here's to hoping that corollary of Murphy's Law doesn't come to haunt me. Hee.)

I just checked it - it's working (for me, at any rate). :) (Just for the record, I wasn't fishing for reviews when I mentioned that I was ticked off. The review really did p*** me off, for a multitude of reasons.)

I love Jeeves and Wooster! The episode where Wooster pretends he's an African chief still makes me laugh every time I think about it. :) And by the way, yay! I can see the forum and stories again! That makes me feel cheerful. Now I have a ton of reading to catch up on :P